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After 2nd opinion, wrestler returns to a sport he loves

Talawanda’s Adam Ruby was seriously injured in a practice last season.

Talawanda High School wrestler Adam Ruby recently suffered a serious arm injury but is now cleared to wrestle again. Staff photo by Gary Stelzer

Gary Stelzer/MBR Talawanda High School wrestler Adam Ruby recently suffered a serious arm injury but is now cleared to wrestle again. Staff photo by Gary Stelzer

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1:16 AM Friday, February 3, 2012

By Jay Morrison

Staff Writer

OXFORD — Adam Ruby has never been so happy to see a reversal.

After qualifying for nationals in July, the Talawanda High School junior was at his second practice in Cleveland when he suffered a horrific broken arm.

A doctor told him the risk of further injury was substantial, saying a dislocated elbow and ensuing surgery would be likely. So Ruby decided to give up the sport he loved and help his dad, Brian, as a member of the coaching staff.

But at the suggestion of THS athletic trainer Greg Daniels last month, the Rubys went to see a specialist, who told them enough time had passed and there was no injury risk beyond what already is inherent to the sport.

“I was really excited, and I knew if I was feeling this way, I should probably give it another try,” Adam said. “The doctor assured us he was not worried about the elbow dislocating.”

Brian, on the other hand, still has concerns, as any father would.

“It does worry me, but he has to be his own man,” Brian said. “I don’t want to see him get hurt, but my fears can’t prevent him from having his life.”

Despite being a little tentative at first, Adam has picked up where he left off following his record-breaking freshman and sophomore seasons.

He has won 12 of his first 15 matches, including five by pin, and last week he became the first Talawanda wrestler to place at a tournament this season when he took third in the 113-pound weight class at the Eaton Invitational.

“I feel like I’ve gained my confidence back,” said Adam, who holds the school record for most wins and pins by a freshman and sophomore.

“When I first started again, I was afraid to hurt my arm,” he added. “It’s hard to get over something as traumatic as that.”

The injury occurred while he was wrestling someone 20 pounds heavier than him. His opponent threw him, and when Adam went to post with his left arm, it snapped.

“Normally when someone gets hurt, they huddle around him, but everyone else keeps wrestling,” Adam said. “But my coach cleared the gym. I remember feeling my palm and my elbow were touching the mat, but the rest of my arm was up in the air.

“It was like a teepee, with the bones coming together at point, and it felt like there was this huge weight on top of it.”

While the decision to give up the sport may have seemed obvious, it still was difficult.

“The decision not to wrestle was really hard on me,” Adam said. “I struggled with it for a week before I finally decided to call it quits.”

In addition to giving up the sport he loved, Adam said he felt like he was abandoning his teammates as well as his father, a three-time state qualifier and state placer for Fairfield who returned to coaching after more than a decade away in order to work with his son.

So while Adam quit the sport, he never quit the team. He showed up to every weight-lifting session and every practice to help in any way he could.

“I’m very proud of him for the decisions he made,” Brian said. “Most kids would have just quit. But he said, ‘If I can’t be a part of the team one way, I’ll continue to contribute another way, the next best way I can.”

While coaching kept him involved, going to the tournaments was hard, knowing he was good enough to beat most of the other wrestlers. So when the trip to the specialist resulted in medical clearance, he got right back to work.

“I feel like I’m still rusty and things don’t come to me as quickly as they did before, but I’m just happy to be wrestling,” said Adam, who missed qualifying to state by one match last year.

“Because of the time off, I don’t feel like going to state is as good of a possibility this year as it was last year,” he continued. “But I’m going to wrestle as hard as I can.”

Contact this reporter at (513) 820-2193 or jmorrison@coxohio.com.

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